Instead of slow cooking the dulce de leche on high for 4-6 hours, she makes dulce de leche on low for 8 hours – allowing you to go to bed and wake up to dulce de leche (arguably better than waking up to coffee).

Instead of opening the can, Steph leaves the can intact. As long as the can remains fully submerged, it shouldn’t explode (I say this with some confidence after reading her post – including all of its comments – and trying it myself).

Been planning to try this one out when my friend told me about it. We have a pit outside where we cook (instead of using gas or electricity). I think that’ll allow me to “cook” the condensed milk. Cheers!

Hey! I’m from Argentina… so I’m very used to eat dulce de leche and soooo addicted to it. DdL is for us what peanut butter is to you and the other way round: over here PB is a rare thing to find and when you have some you either hate it or love it (it is actually heaven to me). But it is kinda industrial, ’cause the real thing is so hard to make that it will never taste like the one you are used to. Try getting the creaminess of PB in your food processor- impossible.So if you ever come to latin America try buying some and make the taste-test, haha. Adieu!

If you want to make it slightly quicker…I put the cans (unopened) in a saucepan on the stove with at least an inch of water covering the can and boil it for three hours. You have to keep the water at a boil and continue to add hot water to make up for what evaporates, but it is faster. Don’t open the can until it cools or you’ll be scraping Dulce de Leche off the ceiling!

I was tempted to include a recipe for this in my upcoming slow cooker cookbook but I have seen the cans split and/or rust on the inside with this method so I was hesitant. I’d recommend keeping an eye on it while it cooks and taking it out as soon as you think it is done.

i love this Dulce de Leche! my dad always made this for a treat when i was a kid, and i have stuck to this method, although it’s getting harder to find a can without a “ring pull” to use now a days =)dad did it stove top, submerged in water and simmered all day (8 hours), then let it cool, refrigerate overnight and eat!

LOL.. definitely let it cool before you open it. I got impatient, and opened it while still hot. I was greeted with a nice spray of dulce de leche across my hair and shirt. It didn’t burn me, but I’m very sticky

Thank you for this! I tried making it today, and while I don’t think I managed to cook it long enough for the first can, the second can is back in the hot water. My fiance wants to top homemade cheesecake with this stuff and I have to concur, it’s heaven!

(Also, a small amount of salt added into this makes for a salted caramel flavor that’s insanely good.)

Did you all know that you can buy this in a can? Nestle makes it and it’s available in the Mexican food section of most grocery stores, even WalMart. When the can is fresh it is almost pourable. If you’ve had it for a while it thickens considerably but makes a great apple dip.

@Jeannette — It’s called cajeta I believe. It’s a more truer form of dulce de leche as it is made from goat’s milk. I think most people who try DdL like the Americanized (sweetened condensed milk [scm]) version better. Plus cajeta is more expensive than scm.

Can I make this in a casserole??if i merge the can in water and put the water on very low heat..where it simmers…If i start in the morning say 9 o clock??by afternoon if I keep on refilling it..will it give me the same results and is it going to be safe??

We tried this and it was fantastic! I wrapped the can in a dish cloth before submerging it. My husband woke up to this on a Saturday morning and was so grateful. Dulce de leche is one of his favorites. Thanks for the great post

I boil 2 cans on my stovetop for 4 hours constantly adding water to cover cans. When done, cool and I spoon contents of each can into a graham cracker crust, top with cool whip and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Tastes like O’Charley’s caramel pie!

Did your second to last paragraph mean to say “The downside, as you can see, is that the cans leech toxic BPA into finished product, disrupting your hormones and increasing your likelihood for cancer.”?

Hi…. The nice people at Cooking Light put together a crockpot book… which I highly recommend!! They put the SCM in a pyrex/ glass measuring cup and top it with foil… then add very hot water to the height of the cream and stick it on low for 9 hours… poof… caramel/ dulce de leche…

Hello!I am brazilian and since was kid my grandma would cook it in the same crock pot that cooked black beans!! My favorite at all! but i honestly dont remember it taking so many hours… Anyway, depending on the cooking time, you get very different kind of dulce de leche… all great, surely!

I have used sweetened condensed milk when making dulce de leche for years. I usually boil water in a large stew pot and place as my can(s) in the water. Boil them for 3 hours, take out water and cool in the fridge. Don’t worry I have never had them explode. I have never thought to use them for frosting, but sounds like a great idea! I have always placed the thick milk into a graham cracker pie crust and refridgerate. This is how O’Charly’s makes their caramel pie

Hello from a Spanish girl and a super DULCE DE LECHE lover. This is a “fast method” but if you want to do REAL dulce de leche is not that difficult and MUCH BETTER. you just need 1l of milk, 200g of sugar, 1 spoon of bicarbonate, 2 spoons of vanill essence. Put to boil and mix every 5 min. In 1 and 1/2h will be ready!!!Regards from Stockholm!!

After reading all the comments, I was still leary of trying to make dulce de leche. But I decided that I would use the crockpot method. I doubled wrapped the can of SCM in foil and filled the crockpot with the warm water. Being still a little scared, I put my crockpot on the back patio, in case of explosion, it’s easier to hose down the back of the house than my kitchen. Guess what?! NO EXLOSION – just perfect dulce de leche. My crockpot and a can of SCM are my new BF. It turned out perfect. Thanks again. I couldn’t be happier.

I was looking for a caramel recipe and I came across this one last month. I have been using condensed milk ever since to make chewy caramel. I add vanilla bean paste and a couple of tablespoons of butter (salted) and microwave it for 6-8 minutes (giving it a good stir every minute). I have also used it to make a buttercream frosting for my chocolate cake. The buttercream tasted just like the mashmellowing goo inside a mars bar.

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